-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Three days after a consumers ' group called for a meat boycott , the head of Argentina 's beef industry said Thursday prices will fall by week 's end .

Gustavo Valsangiacomo , president of the Argentina Beef Industry Union , declined to say the boycott was responsible for the price drop . But he acknowledged that demand for beef is falling , the official Telam news agency said .

`` There are a sum of factors , '' Valsangiacomo told Telam . `` I do n't want to take importance away from the boycott , but it will be analyzed by the end of the week . Nonetheless , we undoubtedly believe that prices reached a point that the public can not and does not want to accept . ''

On Monday , an Argentinean consumer group called for a one-week beef boycott in an attempt to lower prices in a nation that eats more beef than anywhere else in the world .

The price of beef has increased 40 percent to 50 percent since December , said the Association of Free Consumers , which called for the boycott .

The group cited success in a similar recent boycott of tomatoes , which also had risen in price . Within a few days of the tomato boycott , prices dropped , the consumer organization said .

Valsangiacomo said the beef industry had reached a particular point in which cattle growers have cheap feed but have tried to maximize their profits .

`` There has to be an equilibrium between their costs and what consumers are paying , '' the industry chief said .

Argentina -- a nation of nearly 41 million residents and 51 million head of cattle in 2007 , the latest year comparison figures are available -- has faced a crisis as cattle supplies have dipped to their lowest levels in 45 years , according to the Argentina Farm Federation .

The Association of Free Consumers cites three possible reasons for the decline in cattle stock : a significant increase in the number of slaughtered livestock ; an acceleration in the cultivation of soy , with more than 10 million hectares -LRB- 24.7 million acres -RRB- converted from livestock to soy production ; and more Argentineans buying beef .

Drought also has decreased the size of available pasture land .

Argentineans eat more beef than any other nation in the world -- 68 kilograms -LRB- 150 lbs -RRB- per person annually , the Farm Federation said . Despite the high consumption , that 's a significant decrease from the 80 kilograms -LRB- 176 lbs -RRB- per person per year in the 1970s , the farmers ' group said .

Argentinean beef is considered among the best in the world , and the nation is the third-largest exporter in the world , behind Brazil and Australia . But the drastic decline in beef cattle has led some Argentineans to worry the nation eventually could have to import beef to keep up with the high demand .

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Consumer group called for one-week beef boycott to try to lower prices

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Argentina Beef Industry Union president wo n't say if boycott responsible for likely price drop

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Price of beef has risen 40 percent to 50 percent since December , group says

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Industry chief tells news agency public demand for beef on decline